Fntastic’s Struggles With The Day Before Continue, Company Promises Development Video

If you haven’t been following Fntastic’s survival MMO The Day Before, you’ve probably missed out on an interesting bit of drama. We’ve only written about the game a handful of times on MMOBomb so far. This will be the sixth. Of those posts, two are about the game itself. Specifically, they’re gameplay trailers. One you can still see. That would the Nvidia trailer I wrote about in early January. The other – a gameplay trailer the developers promised following the removal of the game from Steam and the announcement of the launch delay – is no longer available to view.

These issues partially stem from the fact that while, according to the developer, the trademark for the game’s title was available when they announced the game, they apparently never claimed it, leaving it open for someone else to do so... and someone did. That same someone then later filed a complaint with Steam, spurring the game’s removal from Valve’s platform. It’s also resulted in the game’s more recent videos being pulled from YouTube. (The upside is that Mike did a lengthy writeup on some of those videos, so even if you haven’t seen them, you can still get a general idea of their content.)

That brings us up to now. Despite the issues and delays, Fntastic still seems to be set on getting the game out. Or, at least they want players to believe the game is still coming. Yesterday, the developer dropped a tweet promising a video showing the actual development of the game. The video will go back to 2019 when they started working on it. According to the tweet, “the game is getting better every day”, and “[their] team works hard to give [players] the best possible product”. The tweet then shows a before and after picture of some zombie NPCs.

A video of the development of #thedaybefore since 2019 will be posted soon. The game is getting better every day. Our team works hard to give you the best possible product. pic.twitter.com/uvdoUgrmIX

— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) February 12, 2023

While some players are definitely cheering the company on, the general response to the tweet feels middling at best. Some asked for the devs to stream right now if the game actually exists. Others listed things they’d like to see – noting that since they’ve delayed the game by 8 months, it shouldn't be an issue. There was a comparison to The Division. And, some pointed out that it’s odd that a game that was supposed to be coming out around now hasn’t had any rounds of testing.

Livestream this right now if it’s an actual game. But you won’t because it’s unfinished and not even close for launch.

— TurkeyFarmer (@turkeyfgaming) February 13, 2023

We want to see:
1. Actual mission in progress
2. Character progression
3. Social space
4. Base building
5. Uncut mechanics during gameplay
6. Extended combat PvP/PvE
7. In-game menus for character
8. Vendors
9. Economy
10. MTX

Game comes out 8 months shouldn’t be issue

— last 100 meters of the battlefield (@gijoe0414) February 12, 2023

Gameplay the last of us and the atmosphere 100% copy of Tom Clancy’s The Division.

I have no problem with that but everything seams unreal….

Teaser videos copy of the last of us screenshots looks exactly like The Division 1 just with an different angle.

— Ramzy (@Ramzy02678726) February 12, 2023

That is a good point... any game about to release with a multiplayer function has at least closed alpha/beta tests... How does this thing manage to be this sketchy lol

— MirrorsLie (@Mirr0rsLie) February 13, 2023

The real question here, though, is if they do put up the promised video. Will it be up long enough for players to see anything worthwhile? Or will it be removed too?